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Quote by Shirley Chisholm

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Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was an American politician who became the first African American woman to serve in Congress and the first woman to run for a major party's nomination for President of the United States. Born on November 30, 1924, she represented New York's 12th congressional district from 1969 to 1983. A member of the Democratic Party, Chisholm was known for her advocacy for civil rights, women's rights, and social welfare. Her presidential campaign in 1972 marked a significant milestone in American politics. more

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“I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I'm not the candidate of the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I'm equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests... I am the candidate of the people...”

PeopleCountryStatesTodayAmericaPoliticalBlackInterestUnitedUnited StatesSpecialMovementProudDemocraticCandidatesBossPresidencySpecial InterestsNominationsBlack America
Author:Shirley Chisholm
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“I was the first American citizen to be elected to Congress in spite of the double drawbacks of being female and having skin darkened by melanin. When you put it that way, it sounds like a foolish reason for fame. In a just and free society it would be foolish. That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black and a woman proves, I think, that our society is not yet either just or free.”

ThinkingWayYearsFirstsPersonsReasonWould BeSoundBlackFiguresCitizensFameProveFemaleSkinsCongressFoolishSpiteOur SocietyFirst PersonFree SocietyAmerican CitizensCongressmanDrawbacksMelanin
Book:Unbought and Unbossed: Expanded 40th Anniversary Edition
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“Anyone who has ever studied the history of American diplomacy, especially military diplomacy, knows that you might start in a war with certain things on your mind as a purpose of what you are doing, but in the end, you found yourself fighting for entirely different things that you had never thought of before. In other words, war has a momentum of its own and it carries you away from all thoughtful intentions when you get into it. Today, if we went into Iraq, like the president would like us to do, you know where you begin. You never know where you are going to end.”

IfsKnowsMindDifferentWarEndsMightTodayPurposeCertainFightingFoundPresidentMilitaryIntentionIraqThoughtfulDifferent ThingsCarrieWhere You AreDo You KnowDiplomacyMomentumWhere You Are Going
Author:George F. Kennan
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“You have to take chances for peace, just as you must take chances in war. Some say that we were brought to the verge of war. Of course we were brought to the verge of war. The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art... If you try to run away from it, if you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost. We've had to look it square in the face... We walked to the brink and we looked it in the face. We took strong action.”

IfsTryingLooksArtWarRunningActionFacesCoursesLostStrongChanceAbilityScaredSquaresRunning AwayTake A ChanceVerge
Author:John Foster Dulles
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